Controversy at London seminar on antisemitism

Posted on by Bob Pitt
Bat Ye'or with Pamela Geller

Gisèle Littman and friend

The Jewish Chronicle has published a report on conflicts that arose during a one-day symposium sponsored by the Journal for the Study of Antisemitism which was held at the Wiener Library in London last weekend.

The controversy was prompted by contributions from two of the speakers. One was Bat Ye’or (the pen name of Gisèle Littman) who informed her audience that the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation is “the source of antisemitism” and that “Islam is denying the root of Judaism and Christianity with a profound belief in Jihad”. Another speaker, Manfred Gerstenfeld, asserted that Muslim culture is inferior to Western culture.

Continue reading →

Dead pig left outside Texas mosque

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Dead pig at Cypress mosque

The small, black pig lay dead on its side upon the wooden deck, a deep gash on the side of its belly.

That’s what a congregant at the Islamic Outreach Center saw Tuesday evening when he and a handful of other worshippers arrived for nightly prayers. Worshippers also found blood stains near the door of the Harris County mosque.

Continue reading →

Posted in USA

Former EDL youth leader in court for breach of football ban

Posted on by Bob Pitt

A leading member of the English Defence League banned from every football ground in the country has been spotted heading for Arsenal matches, the Old Bailey heard.

Joel Titus, 21, was banned from football after he led a mass brawl outside Liverpool Street station more than two years ago. At that time he led Brentford fans in a charge on rival Leyton Orient supporters.

But he has dodged the ban by switching allegiance to Arsenal and joining fellow hooligans in pubs, stations and on supporters coaches, the court was told. The leader of the youth wing of the EDL has also moved to Highbury to be closer to Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium.

When he was arrested during one clash he was found with a hard-knuckle Kevlar glove – the same type of weapon he used during the earlier Liverpool Street fight.

Police are now applying for his football banning order to be extended to prevent a repeat of his behaviour. Judge Timothy Pontius will pass sentence today.

Evening Standard, 6 December 2012

Continue reading →

GOP asked to reach out to Muslim voters, reject anti-Islam bias

Posted on by Bob Pitt

A coalition of 11 major American Muslim organizations today called on the Republican Party to reach out to Muslim voters by rejecting anti-Islam bias and discriminatory legislation.

At a noon news conference at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., the coalition announced the publication of a full-page advertisement in the conservative Washington Timesnewspaper outlining recent examples of intolerant speech and actions by Republicans and offering recommendations to help improve GOP relations with the Muslim community.

Continue reading →

Melbourne: local council refuses to provide a platform for Islamophobia

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Mark Durie Third ChoiceCasey councillors have overwhelmingly rejected deputy mayor Sam Aziz’s call for a discussion of the dangers of Islam before they decide on a planning application for a mosque in Doveton.

At last night’s meeting, mayor Amanda Stapledon said such a discussion would create a very poor perception in a multicultural community.

Tensions between the mayor and her deputy, former close allies, were clear during a fiery debate in front of a large public gallery.

Continue reading →

Pasadena church hosting Muslim conference receives hate mail

Posted on by Bob Pitt

All Saints Church in Pasadena has received dozens of e-mails denouncing its decision to host a conference by the Los Angeles-based Muslim Public Affairs Council – and some have been hateful, said the church’s Reverend Ed Bacon.

“We have begun to receive some of the most vile, mean-spirited e-mail I’ve ever read in my life, talking about All Saints participating in terrorism by being hospitable to Muslims,” Bacon said. According to Bacon, one e-mail said “Islam is satanic garbage.” Another accused the church of “consorting with the enemy.”

Continue reading →

Mosque application rejected in heated meeting

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Planning permission for a mosque in Worcester Park was unanimously turned down by councillors after a lively meeting last night.

Councillors said the proposed mosque in Green Road would bring too much traffic to the area and voted to refuse planning permission after hearing arguments from concerned neighbours and from the project’s backers.

Around 300 people attended the meeting, as well as several police officers, and there were loud cheers as the councillors voted. During the meeting the chairman had to ask the audience to calm down on several occasions as speakers were interrupted by loud heckling.

Continue reading →

Ontario teachers’ union ‘under fire for workshop on Islamophobia’

Posted on by Bob Pitt

ETFO

The union representing Ontario’s elementary school teachers is coming under fire for running an anti-Islamophobia workshop as part of a series of seminars on how to teach students about equality.

The Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO) began putting the anti-Islamophobia workshop together in 2011 following a request from one of its local presidents for such a seminar “as a response to the collective victimization of the Muslim community” after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, according to an ETFO report from August.

Critics of the workshop, however, are slamming the ETFO for developing an anti-Islamophobia seminar that will not pro-actively address the fact that women and girls are treated as second-class citizens in some circles of the Islamic faith.

Continue reading →

Australian radio presenter who vilified Muslims fails to get lawsuit thrown out

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Alan JonesShockjock Alan Jones has been unsuccessful in his latest attempt to have a lawsuit claiming he racially vilified Sydney’s Muslims three days before the Cronulla riots in 2005, dismissed.

In those proceedings, father-of-eight Sam Ekermawi, of Moorebank, claims Jones vilified Muslims when he derided “Lebs”, “wogs” and “Middle Eastern” people in his breakfast program on 2GB on December 8, 2005.

Continue reading →